"Reflections On Married Life..."

Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory in Spring

Our holiday weekend was very nice... On Sunday, the husband and I (yes, I never get tired of saying that), took the boys to The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory on Belle Isle. They were amazed at the huge variety of tropical and subtropical plants on display.  I think their favorites were the gigantic palm trees in the atrium. We also visited the Aquarium and the nature zoo and the look of childhood wonder on the boys faces as they explored these unknown places was just so heart warming to see.

After our trip to Belle Isle, we took the boys on a shopping jaunt to the mall. D'Mitris (our 13 year old, who we call "Meechie") needed some shorts and a top for basketball practice at school, since despite a few mishaps including breaking his glasses (requiring a $250 pair of same day replacements!), he made the team. We're very proud of him and Eddie and I can't wait to attend his first game.

Following the mall, we decided to have our dinner out on Sunday and of course we went to one of my favorite places, Big Boy. The boys had never been to Big Boy and they loved it. Dustin, the 9 year old was tickled pink to discover his meal from the kiddie menu included a Jr. Bomb Pop for dessert. Both the boys looked at us incredulously as Eddie and I reminisced about going to Big Boy with our parents when we were little and how much things had changed in the short space of our lives.

Yesterday for Martin Luther King Day, in addition to a trip to grocery store, Eddie and I taught the boys about the Civil Rights Movement in America and around the world. After a holiday dinner of home-baked pizzas, we all read Dr. King's eloquent and impassioned "Letter from Birmingham Jail." And just like when my parents shared the writings and speeches of Dr. King with me, the boys didn't actually understand it all, but thanks to some YouTube videos they began to get an idea of the things this great man did in his life.

As our boys are of a mixed race heritage, it's sometimes difficult to figure out how to approach issues of race and racism. So I'm glad that our boys are growing up in this era, when they truly do have the opportunity (despite those who seek to turn back to hands of time) to be whatever they want. The boys were shocked last night to hear me say to them that as a boy, my parents never told me that someday I could be president (a once familiar cliche in many of the movies which were largely devoid of people of color that I watched when I was their age).

I told them that not only was my 90 year old dad shocked as we watched the first inauguration on television that Barrack Hussein Obama had become president, but so was I... Like most people of color, I didn't think it would ever happen. They both smiled when I pointed out that just like the president, their mixed race heritage was not the impediment to achieving their dreams that it once might have been. They seemed perplexed when with tears in my eyes, I told them how happy it made us feel to know that they really could become president someday (the thought that they couldn't was never something that had crossed their minds).

Well, it's back to work today for me... As the boys have another day off today, Eddie is taking them to work with him (they'll love seeing his client's palatial homes). As for me, I look forward to the end of the work day now in a way that I haven't since my son Marvin was a boy. Coming home to a house alive with the giggles and horseplay of children is probably the greatest joy of my day. As I write this (at 7 a.m.), the boys (and my husband) are fast asleep in their beds as I prepare to leave for the office and I can say without a doubt, "it gets better..."

"Fear Eats the Soul"